Bruno Gironcoli was born in Villach in 1936. After training as a goldsmith, he went on to study art and served as  head of the School of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1977 until his death. He was awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 1997, and he designed the Austrian Pavilion for the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003.

Gironcoli died in 2010. During his lifetime, his legacy was celebrated with a museum in his name on the grounds of Schloss Herberstein in Styria.